Concrete Mix Design As Per Indian Standard Code

Concrete Mix Design

Introduction
The process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete and determining their relative amounts with the objective of
producing a concrete of the reuired! strength! durabilit"! and wor#abilit" as economicall" as possible! is termed the
concrete mix design$ The proportioning of ingredient of concrete is governed b" the reuired performance of
concrete in % states! namel" the plastic and the hardened states$ If the plastic concrete is not wor#able! it cannot be
properl" placed and compacted$ The propert" of wor#abilit"! therefore! becomes of vital importance$
The compressive strength of hardened concrete which is generall" considered to be an index of its other properties!
depends upon man" factors! e$g$ ualit" and uantit" of cement! water and aggregates& batching and mixing& placing!
compaction and curing$ The cost of concrete is made up of the cost of materials! plant and labour$ The variations in
the cost of materials arise from the fact that the cement is several times costl" than the aggregate! thus the aim is to
produce as lean a mix as possible$ 'rom technical point of view the rich mixes ma" lead to high shrin#age and
crac#ing in the structural concrete! and to evolution of high heat of h"dration in mass concrete which ma" cause
crac#ing$
The actual cost of concrete is related to the cost of materials reuired for producing a minimum mean strength called
characteristic strength that is specified b" the designer of the structure$ This depends on the ualit" control
measures! but there is no doubt that the ualit" control adds to the cost of concrete$ The extent of ualit" control is
often an economic compromise! and depends on the si(e and t"pe of job$ The cost of labour depends on the
wor#abilit" of mix! e$g$! a concrete mix of inadeuate wor#abilit" ma" result in a high cost of labour to obtain a
degree of compaction with available euipment$
)euirements of concrete mix design
The reuirements which form the basis of selection and proportioning of mix ingredients are *
a + The minimum compressive strength reuired from structural consideration
b+ The adeuate wor#abilit" necessar" for full compaction with the compacting euipment available$
c+ Maximum water,cement ratio and-or maximum cement content to give adeuate durabilit" for the particular site
conditions
d+ Maximum cement content to avoid shrin#age crac#ing due to temperature c"cle in mass concrete$
T"pes of Mixes
.$ /ominal Mixes
In the past the specifications for concrete prescribed the proportions of cement! fine and coarse aggregates$ These
mixes of fixed cement,aggregate ratio which ensures adeuate strength are termed nominal mixes$ These offer
simplicit" and under normal circumstances! have a margin of strength above that specified$ 0owever! due to the
variabilit" of mix ingredients the nominal concrete for a given wor#abilit" varies widel" in strength$
%$ Standard mixes
The nominal mixes of fixed cement,aggregate ratio 1b" volume+ var" widel" in strength and ma" result in under, or
over,rich mixes$ 'or this reason! the minimum compressive strength has been included in man" specifications$
These mixes are termed standard mixes$
IS 234,%555 has designated the concrete mixes into a number of grades as M.5! M.3! M%5! M%3! M65! M63 and
M25$ In this designation the letter M refers to the mix and the number to the specified %7 da" cube strength of mix
in /-mm%$ The mixes of grades M.5! M.3! M%5 and M%3 correspond approximatel" to the mix proportions 1.*6*4+!
1.*%*2+! 1.*.$3*6+ and 1.*.*%+ respectivel"$
6$ Designed Mixes
In these mixes the performance of the concrete is specified b" the designer but the mix proportions are determined
b" the producer of concrete! except that the minimum cement content can be laid down$ This is most rational
approach to the selection of mix proportions with specific materials in mind possessing more or less uniue
characteristics$ The approach results in the production of concrete with the appropriate properties most
economicall"$ 0owever! the designed mix does not serve as a guide since this does not guarantee the correct mix
proportions for the prescribed performance$
'or the concrete with undemanding performance nominal or standard mixes 1prescribed in the codes b" uantities of
dr" ingredients per cubic meter and b" slump+ ma" be used onl" for ver" small jobs! when the %7,da" strength of
concrete does not exceed 65 /-mm%$ /o control testing is necessar" reliance being placed on the masses of the
ingredients$
'actors affecting the choice of mix proportions
The various factors affecting the mix design are*
.$ Compressive strength
It is one of the most important properties of concrete and influences man" other describable properties of the
hardened concrete$ The mean compressive strength reuired at a specific age! usuall" %7 da"s! determines the
nominal water,cement ratio of the mix$ The other factor affecting the strength of concrete at a given age and cured at
a prescribed temperature is the degree of compaction$ According to Abraham8s law the strength of full" compacted
concrete is inversel" proportional to the water,cement ratio$
%$ 9or#abilit"
The degree of wor#abilit" reuired depends on three factors$ These are the si(e of the section to be concreted! the
amount of reinforcement! and the method of compaction to be used$ 'or the narrow and complicated section with
numerous corners or inaccessible parts! the concrete must have a high wor#abilit" so that full compaction can be
achieved with a reasonable amount of effort$ This also applies to the embedded steel sections$ The desired
wor#abilit" depends on the compacting euipment available at the site$
6$ Durabilit"
The durabilit" of concrete is its resistance to the aggressive environmental conditions$ 0igh strength concrete is
generall" more durable than low strength concrete$ In the situations when the high strength is not necessar" but the
conditions of exposure are such that high durabilit" is vital! the durabilit" reuirement will determine the water,
cement ratio to be used$
2$ Maximum nominal si(e of aggregate
In general! larger the maximum si(e of aggregate! smaller is the cement reuirement for a particular water,cement
ratio! because the wor#abilit" of concrete increases with increase in maximum si(e of the aggregate$ 0owever! the
compressive strength tends to increase with the decrease in si(e of aggregate$
IS 234*%555 and IS .626*.:75 recommend that the nominal si(e of the aggregate should be as large as possible$
3$ ;rading and t"pe of aggregate
The grading of aggregate influences the mix proportions for a specified wor#abilit" and water,cement ratio$ Coarser
the grading leaner will be mix which can be used$ <er" lean mix is not desirable since it does not contain enough
finer material to ma#e the concrete cohesive$
The t"pe of aggregate influences strongl" the aggregate,cement ratio for the desired wor#abilit" and stipulated water
cement ratio$ An important feature of a satisfactor" aggregate is the uniformit" of the grading which can be achieved
b" mixing different si(e fractions$
4$ =ualit" Control
The degree of control can be estimated statisticall" b" the variations in test results$ The variation in strength results
from the variations in the properties of the mix ingredients and lac# of control of accurac" in batching! mixing!
placing! curing and testing$ The lower the difference between the mean and minimum strengths of the mix lower will
be the cement,content reuired$ The factor controlling this difference is termed as ualit" control$
Mix Proportion designations
The common method of expressing the proportions of ingredients of a concrete mix is in the terms of parts or ratios
of cement! fine and coarse aggregates$ 'or e$g$! a concrete mix of proportions .*%*2 means that cement! fine and
coarse aggregate are in the ratio .*%*2 or the mix contains one part of cement! two parts of fine aggregate and four
parts of coarse aggregate$ The proportions are either b" volume or b" mass$ The water,cement ratio is usuall"
expressed in mass
'actors to be considered for mix design
> The grade designation giving the characteristic strength reuirement of concrete$
> The t"pe of cement influences the rate of development of compressive strength of concrete$
> Maximum nominal si(e of aggregates to be used in concrete ma" be as large as possible within the limits
prescribed b" IS 234*%555$
> The cement content is to be limited from shrin#age! crac#ing and creep$
> The wor#abilit" of concrete for satisfactor" placing and compaction is related to the si(e and shape of section!
uantit" and spacing of reinforcement and techniue used for transportation! placing and compaction$
Procedure
.$ Determine the mean target strength ft from the specified characteristic compressive strength at %7,da" fc# and the
level of ualit" control$
ft ? fc# @ .$43 S
where S is the standard deviation obtained from the Table of approximate contents given after the design mix$
%$ Abtain the water cement ratio for the desired mean target using the emperical relationship between compressive
strength and water cement ratio so chosen is chec#ed against the limiting water cement ratio$ The water cement ratio
so chosen is chec#ed against the limiting water cement ratio for the reuirements of durabilit" given in table and
adopts the lower of the two values$
6$ Bstimate the amount of entrapped air for maximum nominal si(e of the aggregate from the table$
2$ Select the water content! for the reuired wor#abilit" and maximum si(e of aggregates 1for aggregates in saturated
surface dr" condition+ from table$
3$ Determine the percentage of fine aggregate in total aggregate b" absolute volume from table for the concrete
using crushed coarse aggregate$
4$ Adjust the values of water content and percentage of sand as provided in the table for an" difference in
wor#abilit"! water cement ratio! grading of fine aggregate and for rounded aggregate the values are given in table$
C$ Calculate the cement content form the water,cement ratio and the final water content as arrived after adjustment$
Chec# the cement against the minimum cement content from the reuirements of the durabilit"! and greater of the
two values is adopted$
7$ 'rom the uantities of water and cement per unit volume of concrete and the percentage of sand alread"
determined in steps 4 and C above! calculate the content of coarse and fine aggregates per unit volume of concrete
from the following relations*
where < ? absolute volume of concrete
? gross volume 1.m6+ minus the volume of entrapped air
Sc ? specific gravit" of cement
9 ? Mass of water per cubic metre of concrete! #g
C ? mass of cement per cubic metre of concrete! #g
p ? ratio of fine aggregate to total aggregate b" absolute volume
fa! Ca ? total masses of fine and coarse aggregates! per cubic metre of concrete! respectivel"! #g! and
Sfa! Sca ? specific gravities of saturated surface dr" fine and coarse aggregates! respectivel"
:$ Determine the concrete mix proportions for the first trial mix$
.5$ Prepare the concrete using the calculated proportions and cast three cubes of .35 mm si(e and test them wet after
%7,da"s moist curing and chec# for the strength$
..$ Prepare trial mixes with suitable adjustments till the final mix proportions are arrived at$